Ms. Ionita began piano lessons at the age of 3 with her mother, also an accomplished piano teacher.

From an early age, Ms. Ionita acted as the official accompanist for her Brownie/Girl Scout troop and choral accompanist in Elementary, Junior High and High School. In addition to piano, Ms. Ionita also plays the viola, cello, marimbas and harpsichord.

Ms. Ionita participated and placed in various piano competitions including The Geneva Piano Competition, The Barrington Piano Competition, various Sonata and Sonatina competitions as well as the Young Keyboard Artists International Piano Competition three consecutive years.

She won a 4-year full scholarship to the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana to study with Professor Ian Hobson, a renowned concert pianist and conductor. Ms. Ionita was among the first undergraduate Piano Performance majors to earn a place in Professor Hobson's Studio.

Later, Ms. Ionita studied with celebrity Russian-American pianist and piano professor, Nina Svetlanova (see my photo here) at Manhattan School of Music, where she particpated in various string ensembles and also performed contemporary new works by promising young composers.

Ms. Ionita taught private piano lessons for 10+ years in New York City and then moved back to her hometown, Chicago, where she has been teaching for more than 8 years.

Students of Ms. Ionita particpate in various piano competitions, guest master classes and assessments as well as quarterly piano recitals.

Ms. Ionita is a member of CAMTA, ISMTA, MTNA and the Musican's Guild of Chicago.